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Barrow landlords reject calls to close the doors early

PLANS to force clubs and pubs in Barrow to shut early to try and reduce violence and disorder have been shelved after a revolt by landlords and licensees.

ON PATROL PC Heath Tyson, left, and PC Craig Barrass police Cavendish Street in Barrow town centre. Landlords have rejected calls to close early HARRY ATKINSON

Police and Barrow Borough Council wanted to see clubs close at 2am Sunday to Wednesday, and 3am Thursday to Saturday.

The early closure was the recommendation of the Barrow Alcohol Inquiry and was supported by police. At present, some premises stay open as late as 4am.

But Mike Fallon, a long-serving landlord in the town who runs the Theatre Bar in Cavendish Street, had said jobs could have been lost and the night-time economy would have suffered as a result of any changes.

The head of Barrow’s Licensed Victuallers Association said: “We welcome this decision and we will continue to work with the police and council to make sure there is no increase in violence. What would happen at 3am could very easily happen at midnight.

“We will continue to tackle underage drinking and we ask those who try to get served when drunk not to get nasty with staff as we would be facing a fine if we did and the police came in.”

Councillor Tony Callister, chair of the Licensing Committee for Barrow Borough Council said: “We took these initial steps in partnership with Cumbria police following on from a request from community members as part of the Barrow Alcohol Inquiry.

“This inquiry recognised that there was an appetite locally to tackle issues related to alcohol use and it included a desire for pubs and clubs to close in the town at 2am.

“Local pubs and clubs have decided not to support the request from the community to reduce their opening hours, arguing that their businesses would suffer, despite their recognition of the benefits to crime, public safety and disorder.

“Together with the police we will continue to prioritise night-time crime and disorder issues to ensure that Barrow town centre is safe for everyone to enjoy.”

Police Superintendent Mark Pannone said he supported the statement made by Cllr Callister.

Have your say

@quiet night- i agree with most of your post about the pubs paying a premium for the police after midnight. but your little bit of information about when pubs closed at the same time, yes there was a lot of trouble back when they all closed at the same time. now thanks to the price of alcohol being so high when out it has caused a need for the pre-loading culture. when the goverment killed the pub culure they caused the pre-loading culture

Posted by resident on
14 July 2014 at 14:40

I'm the same as Reformed Pub Goer.I would not dream of going in any pub in Barrow except The Duke.The rest no chance I had enough trouble on the streets of Belfast without trying to navigate Barrows Combat Zone.